AFTER the smoke cleared on the final rounds of the Absolute (Men’s) and Women’s Jamaica Chess Championships last Sunday, two former champions created more local chess history with “perfect” victories, defeating every opponent they faced.

Woman Candidate Master (WCM) Gabriella Watson, still basking in her title-earning performance at the recent World Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary, won all eight games she played in the nine-player field to notch her second national women’s title. Her eight points were one more than Kaia Gayle’s seven, the runner-up’s sole loss being to Watson. Third place went to Glory Murphy on 4.5 points. The defending champion, WFM Raehanna Brown, was unable to defend her title due to personal reasons.

In the Absolute section with 10 players, FIDE Master (FM) Shreyas Smith added a fifth title to his record by sweeping the field which included three of his teammates at the recent Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary — FMs Joshua Christie (the rating favourite), Jaden Shaw and Raheem Glaves. Smith’s maximum nine points were far ahead of second-place Christie’s 6.5. The defending champion Shaw recovered from a sluggish start and placed third on six points.

Smith’s nine wins equalled the feat achieved by FM Warren Elliott in August 2001. Indeed Elliott, who holds the record for the most national Absolute titles (eight), was present as the chief arbiter for the championships to witness Smith’s superb performance.